Top Five Features of Super Meat Boy

Super Meat Boy rocks, and here are five reasons to further emphasize that.

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Five Things That Make Super Meat Boy Awesome

There’s no doubt that Super Meat Boy is easily one of the best indie games to be released in the last year. Heck, the game is easily one of the best games, indie or otherwise, to hit consoles and PC. If you’ve already played the game, chances are you’ve formulated a lengthy list of reasons as to why the game is an absolute blast. As hard as it was, I managed to take my top five features of the game and have compiled them onto this list. Some of you may have a similar list, while others may not. But whether you agree or not, I’m pretty sure we can all agree that Super Meat Boy is freaking awesome, and that the following five features are some of the best in the game and truly make it stand out as a work of excellence.

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5. Excellent Visual Design

Indie games usually feature unique visual design and interesting graphical art. As far as downloadable video games go, Super Meat Boy excels. The colorful nature of each level offers a happy-go-lucky aesthetic, but the dangers that plentifully decorate the stages add a grim detail that manages to make the game truly dreadful. Locales are beautiful, eerie, sorrowful, and mocking all at the same time, and it’s all thanks to the effective blend of stunning 2D graphics and proper use of color.

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4. Large Number of Levels

With over 300 levels included in the main game, you can rest assured that the successor to the Flash hit Meat Boy will keep players busy for a long time. Levels aren’t particularly long, but due to their level of challenge, you’re likely to spend upwards of 30 minutes on the more challenging stages. (They’re almost all challenging, but there are a few that are completely brutal, in a good way.) If 300+ levels isn’t enough, then you can easily try your hand at the extra levels in the new Super Meat World, which includes user-created content as well as new levels from the developers themselves.

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3. Amazing Soundtrack

Super Meat Boy looks good, but it’s a fair argument to say that it sounds even better. Featuring a large collection of themes that range from quirky to captivating, Team Meat’s indie masterpiece has one of the best soundtracks heard in a video game in quite some time. Whether you’re getting pumped while “Betus Blues” plays during your run through the Hospital levels or listening to some extremely catchy music while you browse through extra levels in Teh Internets or Super Meat World, you’ll feel compelled to purchase the official Super Meat Boy soundtrack. If you’re a fan of music from downloadable video games such as VVVVVV, you’ll really dig this game’s score.

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2. Rock Solid Controls

There’s no denying that Super Meat Boy would be a bit harder to enjoy fully if it featured poor controls. Luckily, the great gentlemen at Team Meat provided some incredibly solid controls for the game. Though you could play using the computer keyboard, an Xbox 360 controller is easily the input method of choice. For a game with the level design and high challenge factor of Super Meat Boy, precise controls are an absolute must, and it’s great that this game delivers on that front.

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1. Hellacious Difficulty

If you’re old enough to remember the days when NES, SNES, and Genesis games would completely leave you in misery due to their sheer difficulty, only to give the ultimate sense of satisfaction after you finally got through that terrible roadblock, then you’ll probably get a good nostalgic feeling when you play Super Meat Boy. The game’s retro-style challenge harks back to those old-school experiences, and though there are moments of frustration to be had, it’s a frustration that makes you reminisce of an older period in gaming. Super Meet Boy looks, sounds, plays, and feels like an old-school game, but with a few modern features, it is more accessible and rewarding. If you want to play a game that reminds you of your late night play sessions on the NES, Super Meat Boy will more than deliver.

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Oh, Super Meat Boy, You're Awesome

One could argue that Super Meat Boy is one hell of a game for various reasons. If you were to write me some hate email telling me that my list should have included the game’s bonus content, the squishy pitter patter of Meat Boy’s footsteps, and the comical storyline, I would be inclined to agree that those are all excellent bullet points. That said, there’s no denying that the game’s great visual aesthetic, large collection of stages, impressive music, tight controls, and retro difficulty are five of the most standout features in Super Meat Boy.